In this article we will learn how to get started developing Android applications. We will walk through the steps to setup your environment and then create a sample application.

What do I need to get started

To develop Android applications, you need to install the Java Development Platform (JDK) and then install Eclipse, Android SDK and the Android Development tool plugin for Eclipse. All these tools are available for free.

This tool allows you to use either the Visual Studio IDE or use the MonoDevelop IDE to create applications. It also facilitates installing the Android SDK. This is ideal for developers already in the .Net resource pool. They can leverage the familiar environment and tools to build Android apps thus shortening the learning curve. However, it also comes attached with a price tag. For pricing/licensing/additional info, you can reference the xamarin web site.

Since I have started looking into Android development at a hobbyist level, a good starting point for me was to leverage the free tools. I also wanted to figure out how different Android programming using the native tools was, through the eyes of a .Net developer.

Step 4 : Install the Eclipse ADT plug-in: Within Eclipse, click Help -> Install New Software. Click "Add". In the Add Repository dialog box, enter "ADT plugin" for the Name and specify the Location URL: https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/

If you get any errors after clicking OK, try using https in the above URL. I had some trouble at this point and kept getting an error message. Old friend google came up with several suggestions related to firewall issues etc. The solution was ultimately found on the Android developer site (http://developer.android.com/sdk/eclipse-adt.html#installing) to download the ADT plugin and save it locally (not unzip it) and then in the Add Site dialog, click Archive and select the downloaded archive. voila!

Step 5 : Install the Android platforms that you wish to develop against. Run the Android SDK and AVD manager and within the Available Packages menu select the platforms that you wish to download.

This is where I had hit a speed bump. I would get a connection error when the SDK and AVD manager tried to fetch the Available packages. I tried various options for firewall settings, http vs https setting as well as running the program as administrator. None of these solutions worked for me. Finally the step that I had to take as a workaround was to download the platforms directly and install the packages manually offline. Here is the best resource that I could find on getting this setup work.

Now run the application.. If prompted, select to run the application as an Android app.

Image: The application running in the emulator

Conclusion

We walked through the entire setup of development environment for Android applications. We also took a look at the practical issues that one might run into, through the setup steps. Finally, we stepped through a Hello World program sample. We can now explore the vast features available for custom app development on the android platform.